1995 Mercury Sable LS review from North America

What's gone wrong with the Sable? The first problem was the transmission. It had to be replaced when the vehicle had approximately 100,000 miles on it. Cost: $2,500.00.

The radiator had to be replaced in 2003 and Mercury picked up some of the cost of that.

The alternator was problematic from time to time. The quick and easy fix was smacking the underside of the engine compartment with a long handled shovel or a rubber mallet. After owning the car for 12 years, driving it for about 195,000 miles and dealing with it a dozen times, I finally broke down and had a used alternator installed for about $300.00 to $400.00 (??)

At around 205,000 miles, the water pump broke and had to have it replaced. That too was somewhere in the range of $300.00 to $400.00. (??)

The last time I took it into the shop to get some work done on it, specifically to get it ready to pass state inspection, my regular mechanic told me the motor mounts are broken, the brake lines are going, and there is some rust around the chassis. He was amazed my car still had Original Equipment throughout much of the vehicle.

General comments? I've owned the car since it had approximately 30,000 miles on it. It just turned over 227,000. For major repairs I have paid less than $5,000.00 in thirteen years.

The standard advice is to change the oil every 5,000 to 7,000 miles. This Ford product has been driven 20,000 to 30,000 miles between many oil changes. Occasionally I have treated the car to an oil change after driving it for 10,000 miles, but that has been the exception rather than the rule. There have been times when I decided to check the oil dip stick and found there was NO oil on it. This is one tough engine Ford built!

The car handles very nicely, it's rather quiet inside, and the driver's seat is still in good shape, after 227,000 miles.

The body has held up well, and the original paint is still like new.